Monday, February 04, 2013

Measuring the Impact of University Research

Event Type: Seminar
Title: Pathways to policy impact
Description: Efforts to measure the 'impact' of research
will be a major focus of both government and universities in 2013. The government’s National Research Investment Plan(released in late 2012) states that impact assessment will form an important part of efforts to demonstrate the effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness of national investments in research into the future.

As part of its 2020 Strategic Plan, ANU has a particular focus on public policy, and creating impact through government and policy. But what is policy impact? Is it different from other kinds of impact? Should we be directing effort in particular ways to try and achieve it?

This seminar will draw on research into science policy, research utilisation and public policy to address these questions. It will examine what we know about the relationship between research and policy and what this might mean for how impact measurement systems might be designed, at the level of individual researchers, research organisations
and national policy. It will also provide an overview of work to date in a collaborative project between the HC Coombs Policy Forum and CSIRO examining pathways to policy impact.

Paul Harris is Deputy Director of the HC Coombs Policy Forum in the Crawford School of Public Policy and leads the Forum’s ‘Science, Technology and Public Policy’ program. He is also an advisor at the CSIRO and was previously General Manager, Government and International Relations at CSIRO. In 2012 he completed a secondment in government as General Manager, Science Policy in the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISRTE).

Light lunch will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

About Me

Canberra, ACT, Australia

Tom Worthington is an independent computer professional, educational design consultant and an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Research School of Computer Science at the Australian National University.
A Certified Professional member of the Australian Computer Society, in 2015 Tom received a national gold Digital Disruptors Award for "ICT Education" and in 2010 was Canberra ICT Educator of the Year. Tom previously worked on IT policy for the Australian Government and in 1999 he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society for his contribution to the development of public Internet policy. He is a Past President, Honorary Life Member, Certified Professional and a Certified Computer Professional of the society as well as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a voting member of the Association for Computing Machinery and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Tom has a Masters of Education (specializing in Distance Education) from Athabasca University, a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from the Australian National University and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment from the Canberra Institute of Technology.